87. Heaven In Hell; movie review

 

HEAVEN IN HELL

Cert 15

120 mins

BBFC advice: TBA

Watching very pretty people rolling around naked for two hours isn't a hardship but it would have been more satisfying in Heaven In Hell had meat in its storyline and not just its sex scenes.

In a nutshell, a widowed judge (Magdalena Boczarska) falls in lust with a civil case witness after he sidles up to her in a coffee shop.

It's difficult to blame her - after all the fella is a swarthy Italian (Simone Susinna) with piercing blue eyes and biceps bursting from under his t-shirt sleeves.

She is blind to the possibility that he might be trying to influence her and gives herself to him in her office.

Now, I am not suggesting that judges never get up to hanky-panky but this does seem highly indiscreet, given that he has broken through security to meet her there.

I digress.

The added strand to Tomasz Mandes' movie is that Max had been dating the judge's daughter, Maya (Katarzyna Sawczuk).

Their family relationship is already strained but the young woman explodes when she finds out and much of the movie surrounds her attempts to split them up.

Heaven in Hell is made by the same director as 365 Days, the picture labelled "The Polish Fifty Shades Of Grey."

And its style is obvious from the boobs and bums that are already filling the screen in the opening credits.

There is an attempt to create a story but the dialogue is banal and the film zips between scenes, so rapidly that continuity becomes an issue.

For example, at one point Maya and Max are in a tiny plane together and he turns to her just before a skydive and asks: "What are you doing here?" as if she has just been beamed aboard.

Boczarska is the best actor on view but, given her award-winning pedigree, I couldn't see why she agreed to take part in such a mundane movie. 

Reasons to watch: Lithe bodies

Reasons to avoid: Patchy story

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 4/10

Did you know? Magdalena Boczarska has either won or been nominated for 15 acting awards since 2001.

The final word. Magdalena Boczarska: "After a few meetings, I realized that I have people in front of me with whom I have a chance to embark on a really cool adventure. My intuition told me that if I didn't go down this road, I would regret it." Kultura

Share this post